 | Mideast Briefing: Crisis in Gaza In his weekly analysis, Eran Lerman, director of AJC’s Jerusalem Office, presents an updated assessment of the crisis looming over the kidnapping by Hamas of an Israeli soldier. “The mood of the country, underneath the strained effort to go on with normal daily activities, is fierce: If this is our ‘reward’ for offering the people of Gaza the prospect of life without our presence, then our presence will soon be with them again—not in the form of settlements, but as the result of an intensifying military operation, dubbed ‘Summer Rains,’ which began this morning,” writes Lerman. “It is rare to hear a word of criticism: Our collective patience, even that of prominent ‘doves,’ has been taxed, then broken. Moreover, the need to restore an effective deterrence, upon which our lives here depend, is now as clear to the ‘civilian’ defense minister, Amir Peretz, as it is to his commanders in the field or at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.” Read full briefing.
 AJC Launches National Service Task Force AJC President E. Robert Goodkind announced that Steven Trachtenberg, president of George Washington University, will chair the new AJC National Service Task Force. The task force, first proposed by Goodkind in his address last month before AJC’s 100th Annual Meeting, will seek to formulate a plan, in coalition with other groups, to make voluntary national service the norm for Americans between the ages of 18 and 22. “Imagine an America where Americans from all backgrounds feel a common bond because each has had the opportunity to experience service to our nation, service that will make America stronger, more secure and better for all of us,” said Goodkind.
Leadership Delegation Returns from Moscow An AJC leadership group met in Moscow with senior Russian officials, including the Foreign Minister, the National Security Adviser to the President, and the Director of International Cooperation of the Atomic Energy Commission. Discussions focused on Russia’s role in current efforts to dissuade Tehran from pursuing a nuclear enrichment program, the struggle against anti-Semitism and other forms of racism, and the complex state of Russian-American bilateral relations. The trip, following a similar visit to Moscow last July, reflects the growing importance AJC attaches to engaging in dialogue with Russia, which is playing an increasingly active role on the global scene.
Latvian Leaders Praise AJC Following Moscow, the AJC delegation visited Riga, where Latvian leaders praised AJC for its early support for Latvia’s independence movement in 1991, and for its endorsement of the country’s 2004 campaign to join NATO. The delegation met with the country’s president, prime minister, and foreign minister, all of whom AJC urged to stand strong in support for Israel.
AJC Urges Ukrainian Leaders to Combat Anti-Semitism In Kiev, the AJC delegation urged the expected incoming prime minister, the foreign minister, and the leader of the opposition to combat the negative influence of MAUP, the largest private university in Ukraine and a known purveyor of anti-Semitism. The delegation also called on the Ukrainian government to withdraw its membership in an anti-Israel committee at the UN, and to urge the new Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to avoid excessive and unnecessary anti-Israel discourse. Ukrainian officials voiced appreciation for AJC’s leading role in the decision of the U.S. Congress to “graduate” their country from the restrictions of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment earlier this year.
AJC Executive Director Addresses Chautauqua Institution David Harris was a guest lecturer at the legendary Chautauqua Institution, part of a weeklong program of speakers from Russia and the U.S. on the themes of "Russia: A Post-Soviet Identity" and "Religion in Contemporary Russia." Harris spoke on "Jewish Life in Contemporary Russia." The Chautauquan Daily newspaper published a front-page profile on Harris, alongside an article on Dmitri Trenin, deputy director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, another speaker, who met with the AJC delegation in Russia last week and has an important article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs entitled "Russia Leaves the West."
AJC Radio Message: Londonistan A Must Read Londonistan, the penetrating book on the spread of Islamist extremism in England, by prominent British journalist Melanie Phillips, tops the summer reading list of AJC’s executive director. In his national radio commentary this week, David Harris urges listeners to read the book to better understand the threats we face and how to deal with them.” Phillips was honored last month by AJC with its Mass Media Award. Click to listen.
JBI Director to Chair Federal International Human Rights Body Felice Gaer, director of AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, has been elected to serve as chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal commission consisting of nine persons appointed by the President, Senate, and House of Representatives. “This is a significant and well-deserved tribute to Felice’s key role on the Commission and in the field of international human rights more broadly,” said David Harris. Initially appointed in 2001, Gaer previously served as commission chair in 2002-03, and has since been serving as vice chair. The Commission monitors violations of religious freedom worldwide and makes independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and the Congress. Among those countries cited by the Commission this year as egregious violators were Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Sudan, and North Korea.
Transatlantic Institute on Ehud Olmert’s realignment concept “Withdrawal symptoms? Assessing Ehud Olmert’s Realignment Concept” was the latest in a series of Common Agenda Roundtable Discussions hosted by AJC’s Transatlantic Institute in Brussels. Speakers included Mark A. Heller, Director of Research, Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv Unversity; Dan Schueftan, Deputy Director, The National Security Studies Center, University of Haifa; Paul Taylor, European Affairs Editor, Reuters; and Emanuele Ottolenghi, Lecturer in Israeli Studies at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University. Jason Isaacson, director of AJC’s Office of Government and International Affairs, moderated the discussion which focused on EU and U.S. reactions to the realignment plan and related issues concerning the peace process.
Presbyterian Church Pulls Back from Divestment AJC applauded the Presbyterian Church’s decision to adopt a more constructive and positive approach to peacemaking in the Middle East. The resolution, which passed overwhelmingly at the church’s General Assembly, ends the process set in motion by the church’s 2004 resolution singling out Presbyterian investments in companies doing business in Israel for special scrutiny, a policy that might have led to divestment. AJC has played a critical leadership role at the national and local levels, working with the Presbyterian Church to foster better understanding of Israel. Two AJC staffers, David Bernstein of Washington, D.C., and Jonathan Schwartz, of Chicago, attended the PCUSA gathering in Birmingham, Alabama. Read news release.
International Red Cross Admits Magen David Adom AJC welcomed Magen David Adom’s admission into the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. MDA, shunned by the world body for decades, gained entry after a third international relief symbol, a Red Crystal, was approved. “This action, long overdue, ends the outrageous anomaly of excluding one nation, Israel, from full membership in the apolitical international humanitarian movement," said AJC. Read news release.
AJC Addresses Major Latino Conference Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC’s Latino and Latin American Institute, addressed the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) conference. Joining her on a panel entitled “An American dialogue: race, ethnicity, religion, and civil rights,” were Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, and Dr. Joe Shirley, president of the Navajo Nation. The League is oldest national grass roots advocacy Latino organization in the U.S.
New Book on Holocaust of Greek Jewry AJC cosponsored with the Greek Embassy in Washington, D.C. an event on Capitol Hill for the release of The Holocaust of the Greek Jewry: Monuments and Memories, published by the Central Board of Jewish Communities. Speakers included Senator Paul Sarbanes, Rep. Shelley Berkley, Greek Ambassador Alexandros Mallias, as well as Barry Jacobs, AJC’s director of strategic Studies, and Moses Constantinis, president of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and a close friend of AJC.
Los Angeles Chapter Darfur Initiative AJC’s Los Angeles Chapter raised more than $8,000 to help refugee families from Darfur. The funds raised at the chapter’s 61st Annual Meeting will help buy solar cookers for more than 300 families, reducing the need for firewood and the risk associated with its collection. The solar cooker campaign is coordinated by Jewish World Watch and seeks to provide cookers for every family at the Iridimi Refugee Camp in Chad, which borders the Darfur region of Sudan. Jewish World Watch a coalition of synagogues in southern California mobilizing the community to combat genocide.
Take Action Now - AJC Advocacy Center Visit www.ajc.org/advocacy and let your government officials know where you stand. Current action items include Defend First Amendment Rights, Support DC Voting, Protect Voting Rights; Stop Iran’s Nuclear Arms Drive; Stand Against Hatred. The Advocacy Center provides background materials on each issue and makes its simple to send letters to government officials.
Project Interchange Seminar for University Presidents Four university presidents from the University of Florida, State University of New York - Stony Brook, Washington and Lee University, and the University of the District of Columbia participated in a Project Interchange educational seminar chaired by Harold Shapiro, president emeritus of Princeton University and the University of Michigan, and accompanied by Steven Bayme, director of AJC’s Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Affairs. The seminar focused on offering a comprehensive introduction to Israel, creating relationships between colleagues and institutions and providing opportunities for collaboration in research, faculty and student exchanges. During the week they met with presidents and leading faculty of Israeli and Palestinian universities.
In the Media Religion News Service reported on the AJC’s newly launched bonus program for employees to purchase fuel-efficient cars.
Kommersant, a major daily newspaper in Russia, published an interview with David Harris in which he spoke about anti-Semitism in Russia. Agence France Presse reported on the interview.
On the Presbyterian vote on divestment, the Associated Press and Reuters quoted David Bernstein, Chicago Tribune and JTA quoted Jonathan Schwartz and Religion News Service quoted Rabbi James Rudin. The three wire stories appeared in major newspapers and media websites across the country.
UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer was quoted on the front page of Canada’s National Post after UN Watch identified an accused torturer as part of Iran’s official delegation to the UN Human Rights Council.
Juan Mariano Dircie, assistant director of AJC’s Miami Chapter, was interviewed live on "Shalom Israel," the only Jewish radio program in Spanish in the U.S., making some comments about AJC's work regarding the new resolution of the Presbyterian Church and the incorporation of the Magen David into the International Red Cross Organization.
Proche-orient, a French-language news website, featured an interview with David Harris on AJC’s Centennial.
NOTE: The next issue of AJC News Update will appear on July 12. | |
